Relations have never remained tranquil between Japan and South Korea. They have deep-rooted historical differences. Japan was an imperial power colonizing Korea during 1910-1945. Battle continues between the two countries even today. Harsh diplomatic words were exchanged. Japan has its own logic. South Korea has its own way of protest according to Korean social norms.
The “comfort women” is the latest heated feud erupted. Bronze statues of comfort women have been erected in Seoul in December 2011 and Busan in December 2016 in front of the Japanese diplomatic missions, reminding Japanese about sexual atrocities passed on the unfortunate slave Korean women, kept by Japanese imperial army during wars. These women known as “ianfu” (in Japanese), “halmoni”, (in Korean) “grandmothers” or “comfort women” provided sex to Japanese soldiers and worked in brothels in Japan during wars.
The comfort women also came from China and the Philippines and all together they ranged up to 410,ooo. The full contents of the issue was unsurfaced in 1987 but Japan denied all such claims.
The feud is not yet over and it continues to damage diplomatic ties between Tokyo and Seoul. In the recent retaliatory spate of row, Japan recalled its ambassador, Yasumasa Nagamine, from Seoul on 9 January, and Yasuhiro Morimoto, the consul general of Japan in Busan. For Japan, the erection of these statues are “regrettable and deplorable”. Tokyo wants the removal of the statues and resolution of the issue in accordance with the agreement reached last December.
Seoul demands compensation, which Tokyo claimed has been paid, amounting to US$ 8.6 million to help comfort women. Many in Seoul, however, claim that enough compensation had not been paid. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offered an apology too, which was seen as a big event in resolving the issue. Earlier, Japan offered the landmark apology in 1993. Japan wants South Korea to respect the agreement, compensation deed, and to remove these statues, which South Korean human rights associations considered “peace statutes”. Prime Minister Abe considered South Korean action somewhat as scam. The South Korean Government is in lurch. It has become a hostage between Japan and local activists. Much could not be done by the Government and it appears handicapped. The government is in limbo on this divide. President Park ParkGeun-hye has been impeached and the Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn has taken the responsibilities of the President but he has no political influence to remove these statutes erected in Seoul and Busan. President Park was considered a “pro-Japanese collaborator,” and friendly to Prime Minister Abe together with corruption charges. The South Korean government also faced unfriendliness within home.
The local activists want to return the amount of compensation and even they disparage their own government in dealing with Japan over the comfort women. Activists do not want to remove these statutes, which they argue, are built on their own soil. They considered comfort women as an historical social stigma on their society and hold Japanese responsible for that crime. They regularly protest in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul on every Wednesday and want to remind the Japanese of this inhuman social stigma as black mark on the face of Korea. They considered Japanese Government action of recalling its ambassador as a retaliatory measure instead of paying heed to the issue of comfort women.
Tokyo also suspended all diplomatic activities with Seoul until the matter was resolved. Tokyo is waiting and watching the evolving political situation in Seoul also to see how the issue will be sort out and how diplomats will return to South Korea and resume normalcy.
Apart from the comfort women issue, the island of Dokdo (in Korean) and Takashima (in Japanese) is another source of contention between Tokyo and Seoul. Following the dispute, Japan also recalled its ambassador to Tokyo in 2012.
A day earlier than the erection of the statute in Busan, Japanese Defense Minister, Tomomi Inada, visited the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo where Japanese war dead are buried, triggering emotional controversy between Japan and South Korea, and also with North Korea and China, all victims of Japanese aggression during wars. For opponents, if Tokyo refrains from paying tributes to war convicted criminals the fury could come down. For Japan, dead are national heroes. So far neither side is ready to compensate or forego atrocities. Seoul also deplored when Inada made a visit to the Yasukuni Shrine.
The present diplomatic escalation of tension, however, looks temporary and will find a resolution at the end. Much of the tension is on the South Korean side. The question will arise: will Seoul remove these comfort women statues and will South Korean society abide by the agreement signed in December 2015? Will Japan also terminate paying salutes to the Yasukuni Shrine in a bid to improve relations with Seoul? These are thorny questions and one sees how both countries would overcome these differences.
The writer is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad. He is an expert on China, Japan, and East Asian affair